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Project Log:  Sunday, December 30, 2012

Now that the templates for the forward cabin overhead were complete, my next step was to transfer them to marine plywood and cut out the two pieces required.  I test-fit both pieces, and was generally pleased with the fit; the gap at the forward edge of each piece where they met the boat's centerline was larger than I liked, but the panels were unsupported there and the gap shrunk when I pressed the panels upward, so I planned to add a support cleat there so I could better secure the panels during final installation.  Other minor gaps at the edges would later be covered with trim.

    

I wasn't sure how the final trim around the opening hatch would be configured, but the molded opening beneath the hatch itself was much larger than it needed to be, and I knew there'd be significant trim here, as well as to extend up to the hatch itself.  The new overhead extended as far out as the edges of my support cleats, which I'd placed right at the edge of the oversized molded opening.  Originally, there'd been a massive molded, gelcoated thing that had covered this area from inside, but I'd no plans to reuse that.  So for now, I'd just made a 45° angle cut at each corner of the overhead, which I might cut back later depending on final details.

    

The last remaining sections of overhead were in the pilothouse.  Before I could begin templating, I had to cut through the support cleats in several areas to allow passage of various wires (VHF antenna, overhead lights) through the overhead; I'd done the same thing down in the main cabin before.  Earlier, I'd installed wire tie mounts in the desired route locations, so it was a straightforward matter to remove small sections of the cleats in way of the wire runs before stringing the wires accordingly.



At the forward corners, a few wires would have to pass through the pilothouse roof to reach their intended destinations:  sidelights, and a pair of GPS antennas (one for the main system, the other for the AIS unit).  So I figured out where I wanted these to go, and drilled the holes through the pilothouse roof so I could get the wires out of the way for the moment, and so that when it was time to install the overhead I'd be ready.  I'd come back later and treat the raw holes properly with epoxy to seal the core, but for now I'd done what I needed to.

    

For the remainder of the day, I worked on the overhead templates.  I planned to build the overhead in four sections for convenience and ease of installation, having learned well my lessons from earlier sections.  To this end, I planned ahead and allowed for the panels' seam on one of the transverse support cleats, so I'd end up with four separate templates built in place.  I completed the two after sections, leaving the forward sections for next time.

         

Total Time Today:  3.75 hours

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